Warning: This article contains descriptions of a DIY facial procedure it is NOT recommended anyone tries at home.
Influencer and Australian Big Brother star, Tilly Whitfeld, is speaking out to warn others against trying a DIY freckles hack, popular on TikTok, after her own attempts left her scarred and suffering from loss of vision.
Recounting the terrifying ordeal, Tilly told her social media followers that around nine months before her appearance on the reality show, she tried the trend after spotting it on the app. She then self-tattooed freckles on her face with ink purchased from eBay "and a few sewing needles stuck together with sticky tape". Ouch!
Posting images of her damaged skin, Tilly also explained that her 'beauty hack' was also the reason she often appeared on Big Brother wearing a clay mask - to cool the reaction her skin was still experiencing months later.
"For those asking why I have my blue clay face mask on continuously throughout the show, this is what my face looked like a week prior to entering the house – hence why I always have make-up on and [why] my skin is always covered," she wrote alongside a series of images of her skin looking inflamed and scabbed over. "This is the result of attempting to remove scarring I inflicted on myself trying to replicate an at-home beauty procedure I saw on TikTok."
Tilly warned others not to try any DIY beauty hacks themselves and instead, to learn from her mistake. "Please, please don’t try any 'DIY' or 'at home' beauty procedures, I ended up in hospital with temporary loss of vision in my eye due to swelling and was very sick from the infection, not to mention my face was somewhat unrecognisable."
She later clarified that her scarring is still deep and below surface level.
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Following her original post, Tilly then offered another follow-up and said that a dermatologist had thankfully recommended her a treatment that seemed to be giving her a positive result. She also confessed that she'd kept what had happened to her a secret from her parents out of sheer embarrassment.
"I was too embarrassed to even tell my parents cause it was so dumb," Tilly said in her second post. "Fake ink has high levels of lead in it, so when it’s lazered it turns black, so I had to find alternative treatments! After thousands of $$ worth of experimentation, all the ink is out of my dodgy fake freckles and all that’s left is pigmentation scars from the needles."
She added, "My dermatologist suggested Hydroquinone AND OMG it is helping soooo much - I’m using 4%. This dumb ass story has been shared around the world and I’m so hoping it deters others from making the same mistake."
Well done to Tilly for speaking out in the hopes of helping others (and if this isn't a deterrent on the self-tattooing freckles front, then what is?!).
Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK's multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She's grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.
